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Church of the Force
The Church of the Force was a religious cult obsessed with the Jedi Order. Despite their apparent inability to use the Force, they thought that it was the bee's knees and longed to be ruled by an elite order of warrior-monks who they assumed would have their best interests in mind. History Though various Force-related cults had been common throughout history, the Church of the Force did not emerge until after the fall of the Republic, and the Great Jedi Purge that followed the Clone Wars. Many people around the Galaxy had trouble buying the official story that the Jedi had tried to take over the Republic, enslave its people, and spend all of its money on commemorative plates. There were also a lot of unanswered questions about why the Palpatine got all wrinkly and evil all of a sudden. Some of these dissenters dedicated their lives to restoring the Jedi Order and returning the Galaxy to the glory days of spiritual bureaucracy. Unimperial Activities Though they had a clear goal, the Church did not have the slightest idea how to go about things. They initially decided to try and find surviving Jedi and assist them. That did not go well, and many members of the church were executed when they showed up at the Jedi Temple to see if any Jedi were still hanging out there. A few of the smarter ones went poking around the Outer Rim, but never happened to stumble upon Tatooine or Dagobah. Beyond this fruitless search, the Church devoted itself to theological matters and focused on qualifying for tax-exempt status. After Endor When the Emperor accidentally fell into a reactor core and died, the Church of the Force was able to come out of hiding. The presence of Luke Skywalker, an apparent actual Jedi complicated things. On the one hand, he offered the Church hope of rebuilding the Jedi Order, but on the other hand, it stripped the Church of any authority over matters of the Force it may have assumed in the absence of the Jedi. This led to some disputes among the members of the Church, but most did support Luke's attempt to rebuild the order. When that attempt failed, the Church went to ground again. The First Order officially suppressed the Church and occasionally killed entire villages for harboring its members. That's the kind of stuff they did. Let's Talk About Sects Over time divisions emerged in the Church of the Force. In some cases these were permanent. * Lukerans- Lukerans devoted themselves exclusively to the worship of Luke Skywalker. This sect emerged shortly after the Battle of Yavin and continued even after Luke screwed everything up then ran away to hide. * Ruusan Orthodox- Orthodox followers felt that the reason the Jedi Order failed is because it lost its way. Much of this was blamed on the Ruusan Reformations which limited the order and placed it under the authority of secular government. * Alderaan's Gate- This apocalyptic cult emerged after the destruction of Alderaan. They believed that only after all the planets were destroyed and everyone was dead would the Force be at balance. This group fizzled out quickly since members had the tendency to commit suicide to help bring about the end. * Latter Day Taints- For some reason, this group was obsessed with deceased Jedi Taint Casbah, and were convinced that he would return to lead the new Jedi Order. They adhered to a strict policy of scriptural authority, with ''Taint Magazine'' as their holy text. * Gnostic Anti-Jedites- These adherents worshiped the Force, but they rejected the Jedi as perverters of knowledge and false prophets. They differed from mainstream Anti-Jedite movements in that they were less dickish. * Tythonists- Tythonists sought to discover the origins of the Jedi Order and felt that reclaiming the original Jedi Temple was critical to rebuilding the order. Though he had Lukeran sympathies, Lor San Tekka was a Tythonist. * Yoda's Witnesses- During the Imperial era, some members of the Church became convinced that Yoda had survived the destruction of the Jedi. This was based on persistent rumors of people seeing him at shopping malls. For some reason, this sect also believed in psychedelic drugs and open marriages. Category:Organization Category:Jedi Stuff